Apparatus for feeding and exercising chickens



m Model.) v

M. STEWART, Jr.

APPARATUS FOB. FEEDING AND EXERGISING GHIGKENS. 4 No. 564,849. Patented July 28, 1896.

v WITNESSES INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEIcE.

MORSE STEWART, JR, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND EXERCISING CHICKENS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,849, dated July 28, 1896.

' Application filed March 13, 1896.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MORSE STEWART, Jr., of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Feeding and Exercising Chickens, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of an improvement in apparatus for exercising and feeding chickens, hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The drawing is a vertical central section through a feeding or scratching house or yardwith my invention applied thereto.

It is supposed that the main reason why chickens lay so few eggs in winter is that through a lack of exercise their food is improperly assimilated; and the object ofmy invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for feeding chickens, whereby they are forced to take a considerable amount of exercise in order to obtain their food.

In the accompanying drawing the letter A indicates a feeding or scratching house or yard.

B B represent hoppers at each end of A to contain the feed which is to be given. Each hopper has a spout b, (or may have a number of such spouts, if desired,) and each spout is provided with a cut-off O, which may be worked in any desired way, and which operates so as to let down a small supply of food only. The manner chosen for illustration is connect each cut-oif C with a Wheel D by means of a cord E, at the outer end of which is a weight IV, the cord running over a pulley P. Each wheel D is provided with a tappet d, and between the two wheels D is a center wheel F, provided with a single tappet f and rotating slowly by means of a shaft G, driven from any suitable source of power, and, of course, the same source of power may operate a large number of similar contrivances.

The operation of my invention is as fol-.

lows: Hoppers B being supplied with food (grain or any other desired food) and shaft G set in motion, at each revolution of wheel F its tappet f will rock each of the wheels D through its tappet d, and as either wheel D is rocked it will momentarily open cut-off O and let out a small quantity of food, said cut-off being closed, as soon as tappets d and f part company, by weights IV. If this form SerialNo. 583,089. (No model.)

of communicating power is used, the rotation of wheel F should be so slow that the chickens will have plenty of time to pick up the food dropped from the left-hand hopper B'before another supply of food is dropped from the right-hand hopper B. I lay no stress on the manner of operating the cutoffs, as any power, hand-power or any other, may be used, and it is immaterial how it is applied. For the purpose of scattering the food as it drops I prefer to support a conical cap H under each spout, which may be done by a curved arm 71, attached to hopper B, as

shown in the drawing, or in any other way,

upon which the food falls when released from spout b, and is scattered instead of falling in a mass. I find that this arrangement also, if scatterers H be made of light metal, attracts the chickens by the noise which the food makes in falling upon it.

What Iclaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus for feeding and exercising chickens,'consisting of food-receptacles arranged at points distant from each other and connected mechanisms for alternately liberating a small amount of feed from said re- 'ceptacles, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for feeding and exercising chickens, consisting of food-receptacles arranged at points distant from each other, connected mechanisms for alternately liberating a small amount of food from said receptacles,

and a scatterer arranged under each receptacle and operating to scatter the food as released, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for feeding and exercising chickens, the combination of food-receptacles arranged at points distant from each other, a cut-off for each receptacle and mechanism for periodically and alternately actuating said cut-offs to cause said receptacles to alternately liberate a small amount of food at distinct intervals of time, substantially as described. A

4. In an apparatus for feeding and exercising chickens, the combination of food'receptacles arranged at points distant from each other, a cut-off for each of said receptacles, means for normally holding said cut-0ifs closed, and mechanism for alternately and momentarily opening said cut-offs to cause said receptacles to alternately liberate a small quantity of food at distinct intervals of time, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for feeding and exercising chickens, the combination of food-receptacles B arranged at points distant from each other, of cut-offs O controlling the dischargeoutlets of said receptacles, Wheels D, one for each food-receptacle, provided With tappets 10 d, an intermediate driving-Wheel F provided 

